Rage and Redemption (Rebel Angels) (20 page)

He was saying goodbye.

She clutched him tighter. She didn’t want to let him go, but she knew there was no rational alternative.

He eased away, his fingers lingering on her face.

For a long, silent moment they stared into each other’s eyes. She saw the true scope of his bitterness, the vast desolation, a century of pain.

Tears choked her. She didn’t know how to reach him, how to heal him. What to say.

“This is the closest I’ve been to Heaven in a hundred years,” he whispered, and disintegrated into mist.”

Jerusalem

A fortnight later

Gideon heard the knock on the door but didn’t turn from the window. Night had fallen hard upon the city, driving the inhabitants into their small, stacked houses and sprawling villas. Darkness didn’t differentiate between rich and poor, shepherd and king. Everyone was equally susceptible to the dangers hidden in the shadows.

“Gideon.”

He heard his name and closed his eyes. It had been a mistake to come here. He’d expected to find solace with Alyssa, expected her to understand.

She was one of “his little band of rebels” as Michael had so aptly put it.

Rebels they were, but they didn’t belong to him. Gideon was a participant, not their leader. Most would balk at the idea of having a leader. Still, one in their midst had incited their discontent and inspired their rebellion.

But Gideon was not that one.

“Gideon, may I enter?” She persisted when he made no move to open the door. “I have a surprise for you.”

“Is it your intention to pester me until I allow you in?” he asked.

“But of course,” she responded cheerfully, stepping into the small, airless room.

Opening the window hadn’t dispelled the stale atmosphere slowly smothering Gideon. He needed to be away from this place, away from everything and everyone.

He needed to think.

He needed to rid his mind of
her
!

“Did you dream of Naomi again?” Alyssa joined him at the open window.

He knew Alyssa couldn’t read his mind so apparently his thoughts were written on his face. “I thought being away from her would help. The restlessness grows stronger every day.”

Her soft, warm hand came to rest on his arm and Gideon looked at his friend. She had chosen blue eyes today and bright red hair. Her delicate features and pleasing shape always remained the same, but she found it amusing to change her coloring.

“You’re not interested in my surprise?” Her mouth curved in a tempting smile.

“I’m in no mood for your games.”

Indignation sparked within her wide blue eyes. She stepped back and tossed her mass of fiery curls. “You came to my home, seeking shelter and solitude. I have protected you and honored your request. Well, it ends tonight. You will participate in ‘my games’ or you will find some other place to sulk.”

Annoyed by her ultimatum, Gideon closed the shutters and silently debated his options.

“Daniel is downstairs,” she said stiffly. “Join us or not, I no longer care.”

Daniel.

The name made Gideon smile. How had she located him? Gideon had tried and failed.

“Alyssa.” She paused at the sound of her name. “I will be down directly.”

“Good.” She offered him a bright smile. “Daniel is anxious to see you. I would hate to disappoint him.”

Another toss of her bright curls told Gideon that it was
only
Daniel she didn’t wish to disappoint. He laughed. Alyssa could be so temperamental.

* * * * *

They stood together before the hearth. Gideon paused in the doorway and watched his friends. Firelight danced in Alyssa’s hair and cast Daniel’s face into high relief. Dark brown hair fell to his shoulders in distinct waves, softening the harsh angles of his face. Alyssa laughed at something Daniel said and Gideon let the sound roll across his senses, calming him, relaxing him.

Daniel’s long mantle was thrown back over one broad shoulder, revealing a plain woolen tunic and cross-gartered boots. From head to toe, he was dressed in black. He had tucked a dagger in one boot and doubtless had others concealed within his garments. A long, lethal sword was strapped about his waist but he wore no armor.

“When I seek you out, you are like a phantom in the night, but Alyssa crooks her finger and you obediently appear?” Gideon challenged his friend.

They turned to face him and Daniel smiled. Gideon felt impaled by the intensity of his ink-black gaze.

“Alyssa has always been hard to resist. While you…”

Daniel didn’t bother completing the comparison. Gideon chuckled. “How have you been?” He joined them in front of the fire.

“Bored, my friend. Utterly bored,” Daniel admitted. “These endless campaigns have grown tedious. I’m ready for a change.”

“As am I,” Alyssa piped in. “Let us go somewhere together. Somewhere new and different.”

Michael hadn’t specifically forbidden their interaction but it had been implied when he dispersed them to different locations.

“Surely you’re not afraid of bending the rules?” Daniel asked.

Gideon laughed. “The thought never crossed my mind,” he lied. Thanks to Naomi, thoughts like that never left his mind.

He needed this—badly. A distraction. Something to divert his treacherous mind. To free him from the disturbing tendency to evaluate each thought, each action, by what would please her most.

Monthamn
Castle

Sussex
,
England

May 1148

Naomi fidgeted on her palfrey as Leon of Le Puy called out the expected greeting to the guards in the watchtower. A drawbridge lowered and the iron portcullis rose, allowing the party into the lower bailey. Naomi could see the keep now, situated on an earthen motte, rectangular in shape with crenellated towers at each corner. The outer curtain wall was stone but the fortification surrounding the keep was constructed of wood.

“The Monthamn fief dates back to the days of the Conqueror,”
Leon
said as he helped Naomi down from her horse. “The first Baron Monthamn crossed the channel with William of Normandy and the holdings have grown and prospered ever since. Monthamns are known for their strategic marriages. Roderick’s own marriage doubled the size of the estate.”

“I see,” Naomi responded politely, but
strategic marriages
sounded so manipulative, so hollow. Why could her family not be known for their charity and compassion?

“It all belongs to you now.”

“Nay, it belongs to my grandfather,” Naomi insisted. She was in no hurry to inherit so vast a responsibility. She had much to learn before she was ready to step into that role.

A tall, lanky lad ambled out of the stables to take their horses. Naomi glanced around the spacious clearing, her heart in her throat. It was all rather intimidating. A series of small stone workshops marched along the curtain wall and several rambunctious children chased each other through the grassy commons.

To one side Naomi spied an orchard and a large garden. Eager plants had just pushed through the fertile earth to celebrate the promise of spring.

“Come, my lady,”
Leon
said, casually cupping her elbow.

She fell into step beside him as they crossed the domestic range. Naomi couldn’t help but compare it to the mighty Krak.
Monthamn
Castle
, in its entirety, would easily fit within the lower bailey of Krak des Chevaliers.

Leon
used the huge brass knocker to announce their arrival. Two lads heaved open the door but a dour-faced man, standing back from the threshold, offered the greeting.

“Please come this way. We have been expecting you.”

None of it seemed real to Naomi. She had moved through the past nine weeks as if in a dream. Countries and seas now separated her from anyone who had ever cared about her.

Still grieving the loss of Brother Gabriel, Naomi had foolishly allowed Gideon to slip away. Nay, that had
not
been foolish. Every day she tried to convince herself of that fact. It didn’t matter that she missed his wicked smile and longed for the molten heat of his gaze. He was part of her past and she was determined to concentrate on the future.

The servant motioned to his right. “This way.”

He led them to the small counting room in the back corner of the great hall. Rapping his knuckles against the iron-banded wood, he pushed the door open and departed without saying another word.

“You’ll have to forgive Kruthers. He’s a masterful bailiff but not much for socializing.”

Naomi couldn’t see the speaker until
Leon
stepped out of her way.
Leon
turned slightly and offered her an encouraging smile before she stepped fully into the room.

A man stood behind the wooden table staring at her with obvious curiosity. His thick hair just reached his shoulders in snow-white waves. Creases and wrinkles concealed his expression so Naomi focused in on his eyes. They were wide and clear, accented by surprisingly dark lashes, and they were the same bright blue as her own.

She dropped into a nervous curtsy and forced her gaze down. When she dared to raise her face again, the man stood directly in front of her.

“You look very much like your mother, girl. But there is some of Malcolm there too. And by God, you’ve got my eyes!”

He seemed pleased by the discovery so Naomi tried to relax. “My name is Naomi.” She spoke softly, surprised by the emotion constricting her throat.

Roderick’s gaze shot to
Leon
. “Who gave her that name? Did the monk who raised her name her? Is it possible that he knew?”

Leon
just shrugged so Roderick turned back to Naomi. “Who named you?”

“My mother. She told Brother Gabriel my name and pressed me into his arms before she lost consciousness.” Her throat began to burn and she felt her lower lip tremble. “It’s all I’ve ever had of her.”

He brushed his wrinkled fingers gently across her cheek, his gaze intent upon her face. “My wife’s name was also Naomi. Malcolm promised her that his first daughter would carry on her name.”

His big blue eyes filled with tears and Naomi lost the battle with hers. “I wish I could have known them,” she sobbed.

Roderick pulled her against his big, barrel chest and Naomi melted into his embrace. She rested her forehead against his shoulder and allowed herself to cry. She cried for the mother she’d lost and the father she’d never know. She cried for all of the lonely nights she spent parted from her family.

“Welcome home, Naomi.” He eased her to arm’s length and smiled into her eyes. “I have prayed every day for this event.”

“I never dared to hope…” Naomi’s voice broke, and her chin quivered. “I dreamed as any orphan dreams, but I never really allowed myself to believe they were anything more than dreams.”